Barrow locks up support from big-name Dems – and a few GOPers

The centrist Democrat is hoping to flip Georgia’s Secretary of State office

Greg Bluestein/Political Insider
Former U.S. Rep. John Barrow is running for secretary of state. AP/Charles Dharapak

Former U.S. Rep. John Barrow tried to show Monday he had locked up Democratic support – and swayed some Republican elected officials – with a lengthy list of endorsements for his Secretary of State bid.

That list also includes a rising generation of state Democrats: Jason Carter, the party’s 2014 gubernatorial nominee; newly-elected state Reps. Teri Anulewicz and Bee Nguyen; freshman state Sen. Jen Jordan; Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson and the Rev. Raphael Warnock of Ebenezer Baptist Church.

It’s meant as a show of force ahead of a May primary that also features Democratic state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler and former Rockdale Tax Commissioner R.J. Hadley. The two have an uphill climb. Financial disclosures show Barrow has raised about $340,000, while his adversaries amassed less than $5,000 apiece.

Democrats see this open seat as a juicy down-ticket offering. Four Republicans are in the race to succeed Brian Kemp, who is running for governor: Alpharetta Mayor David Bell Isle, state Reps. Buzz Brockway and Brad Raffensperger, and state Sen. Josh McKoon.

But Democrats are particularly eager for a matchup against McKoon, an outspoken supporter of “religious liberty” legislation who this year is sponsoring a measure that would require the state government to communicate largely in English only.

His list of endorsements was dotted with the names of Republicans who had already crossed party lines to back him. They include Appling County Commissioner Sarah Boatright, Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry, Bulloch County Sheriff Noel Brown and Candler County Commission chair Glyn Thrift.